When my beloved is asleep

when my beloved is asleep

she runs across the kenyan plain

smoothly metered she glides effortless

as a swollen river after april rain

over air and land, sea and sand

her flying feet leave footprints in the sky

when my beloved is asleep

we splash like children through the rain

cavort as lovers under trees

exchanging dreams and fantasies

defying all that stands between

the walls of love that nothing can deny

when my beloved is asleep

the smile starved night is darker yet

diminished by her lack of light

cruel shadows stumble round the room

preparing trapdoors and tripwires, pitfalls and potholes

protecting her from prowlers such as i

when my beloved is asleep

in phantom mode i pace the floor

beset by dreams of times before

imprisoned in an old man’s tomb

i tiptoe tremor through the gloom

determined not to wake her when i cry

when my beloved is asleep